Additive fabrication, rapid prototyping and desktop manufacturing are terms used to describe a relatively new type of manufacturing whereby a solid object is produced, typically in layers, by adding material to previously deposited (or solidified or cured) materials. The solid object is usually fabricated by first segmenting a computer solid model of an object into sub-pieces or layers. These layers of the virtual model are then fabricated by a machine, layer by layer, to a solid representation of the virtual object.
Each method has unique challenges and opportunities. One challenge for all of the methods is the limited number and type of materials from which they can fabricate a solid object. A second challenge for most of the methods is that they also suffer from a weakened strength of the piecewise fabricated object, as compared to an object made by more traditional manufacturing methods (such as molding, machining or casting). Each method also has limitations for the speed with which they can fabricate a solid object. The very nature of fabricating a solid object, layer by layer, results in a relatively slow speed for making the solid object when compared to more traditional manufacturing methods such as molding and casting.
There exists a need in the art for a method that can work with a wide variety of materials, including those with composite fillers such as glass. There further exists a need in the art for an enclosed injection mold cavity that allows for the use of pressure while molding so as to produce objects with superior strength to other additive fabrication techniques. Lastly, there exists a need in the art for molds of various sizes, thereby permitting fast object fabrication.